Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student

Chapter 19

"Why are we having a practical exam on the first day?"

"Other majors are theoretical, but why are we the only ones with a practical test?"

Professor Yura stated solemnly as she observed the agitated students.

"I've mentioned it before, if you're not fully committed, you can leave. Do you believe this class is comparable to the other two majors?"

At that question, all students fell silent.

Professor Yura exclaimed, opening her arms wide.

"If you're a student of Summoning Magic, you should already know this: summoning can't be achieved merely through mana. To establish a bond with spirits, you must possess spirit affinity and control abilities to command your summons,"

she explained.

"That's why the number of summoners is lower compared to knights and wizards," she went on, "and there are fewer heroes in this field."

The students of the Summoning department grimaced at the undeniable truth.

"But!" Professor Yura declared, her face beaming with pride,

"Summoners who rise to the rank of hero accomplish greater feats than heroes in other departments! Do you still believe you're on the same level as students from other departments?"

"No!" the students shouted in unison.

"You are the chosen ones, aren't you?" she asked, and the students replied,

"Yes, that's right!"

"Then give it your all from day one!" the professor urged.

"Good! Let's go!" she exclaimed, raising her fist.

The first-year students followed suit, shouting in unison,

"Let's go!"

The mood suddenly became charged.

Professor Yura, with her ability to uplift the students, had a pleased expression on her face.

Then, a silver-haired female student raised her hand.

"What kind of test will be on the practical exam?" she asked.

"Good question," Yura replied. "Eliza Hergin."

At the mention of her name, the students started whispering among themselves.

The Hergin family was well-known as a great summoning hero family from the northern continent.

"All the phantom beasts managed by Lumeln Academy are gathered here on this island," Yura said, pointing towards the forest.

"Today, I'll test your taming abilities. Tame a phantom beast and bring it to me. Points will be awarded based on the type of phantom beast you tame."

Eliza asked another question. "What happens if someone tames and signs a contract?"

The students listened, swallowing nervously.

Taming and contracting were two different skills.

Taming was the first step in forming a bond with a beast, while contracting required the ability to tame and control the beast.

Yura grinned at Eliza's question.

"If the contract is successful, the phantom beast is yours," she said.

"Wow!" the students exclaimed.

"Lumeln Academy is amazing! They even acknowledge contracts made during practice tests!"

There were two ways to make a contract with a phantom beast.

One was to summon it using a catalyst, and the other was to form a direct bond with the phantom beast.

In the latter case, if the beast had not yet been contracted, it could be "sold."

This was why phantom beasts were often sold for high prices.

Upon hearing that they could potentially form a contract with a phantom beast, the students were all motivated to do their best.

"What about students hoping to become Spirit Summoners, Professor?" Chen Xia asked.

"Summoners can handle both spirits and phantom beasts, and some specialize in one or the other. Lumeln Academy places equal importance on both abilities, so work hard," Professor Yura replied.

Chen Xia nodded.

'Phantom beasts.'

In his previous life, Leo also made contracts with powerful phantom beasts.

'Although they all disappeared in the fight.'

Professor Yura looked at the students and announced,

"You have three hours! Let's begin!"

“Ohhh!”

The first-year students charged into the forest with excitement, while Leo, Xia, Wald, and Eliza remained at the starting line.

"Why aren't you guys going?" Professor Yura asked, tilting her head.

"I'm not interested in low-level phantom beasts,"

Eliza said as she tidied her nails.

Poof!

“… … .”

The reserved Wald did not answer.

“Um… … I only know about taming in theory, so I’m organizing myself.”

Xia showed a troubled smile.

Leo, who kept staring at the forest for a while, finally made his move.

“Oh, you are the Freshmen representative?”

Leo looked back at Eliza.

“I heard that you did well during the Knight class. Can we expect the same in the Summoning Class?”

When Eliza asked with a smile, Leo shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“I’ll do my best.”

Eliza's expression turned sour at Leo's calm response.

Professor Yura chuckled as Leo went into the forest.

"Being young is great,"

"Well, the professor is indeed getting older now..."

puck-!

“Ouch…”

Professor Yura, who had thrust her fist into Carlo's side, smiled looking at Leo's back.

'I'm personally looking forward to it, show me what you got.'

Her intuition told her something big was going to happen.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

'I never knew that an ecosystem such as this could be created.'

Leo walked through the forest, admiring the variety of phantom beasts around him.

He had never seen so many different types of beasts gathered in one place, even in his previous life.

For a summoner, this forest was a veritable treasure trove.

The students were searching the seemingly endless forest for the phantom beasts.

There were often cases where two groups fought over the same beast and ended up missing it.

Those familiar with phantom beast summoning knew to act with caution, as the more powerful the beast, the more reluctant it would be to show itself to humans.

This was why Wald and Eliza remained at the starting line for so long.

In terms of skill, Eliza was on par with Wald.

“Isn’t that guy going a little too deep?”

Some students watched as Leo ventured deeper into the forest and expressed their confusion.

Although they were searching the forest frantically, they still refrained from going too deep, as there were many high-level phantom beasts that were hostile to humans.

This was not just a class, but a practical exam and they needed to score well.

If someone took the risk of taming a high-level beast and failed, they would end up with a zero score.

Lumeln was a place of intense competition, where luck played no role.

"Let him be, even if he fails, he can just stay in the knight department," some students said, turning their attention away from Leo.

"Do you really think so?" a few students replied with a snort.

Leo, who had ventured deep into the forest, surveyed his surroundings.

After making sure that he was alone, he took out the gray feather he had found earlier upon arriving on the island.

'As I thought, this is...'

Leo’s eyes shone, and his aura began to rise.

It was the power of the Phoenix Breath that Leo had learned.

As his aura flared, the feather was set ablaze and turned to ashes, scattered by the wind.

Whoosh!

'As expected, this was the feather of a phoenix. Is there even a phoenix in this forest?'

The Phoenix was a highly coveted phantom beast known for its immense strength, but also its difficult summoning process.

The feathers, which acted as catalysts for summoning, would disintegrate upon contact with Aura.

The only way to summon a Phoenix was to find it oneself, but even that was a challenge due to its strong sense of pride.

This is why the Phoenix was referred to as the "phantom beast of dreams" among summoners.

‘As expected of Lumeln. How great?’

Suddenly, Leo's eyes shone.

Whoosh-!

“… … !”

As Leo stood in awe, a bright crimson flame appeared above his head.

He felt overwhelmed by the heat and light, causing him to lower his posture.

The flame soon transformed into a massive bird, its wings flapping and causing the fire to surge.

Leo instinctively used his aura to protect himself.

The legendary beast, Phoenix, then opened its mouth, speaking in surprise.

-Isn’t it Gerdinger's flame? I thought it must be Reina's flame... I thought it had the same scent as Reina’s flames, but it wasn't Reina. Have I mistaken?

Leo was stunned by the words, asking in disbelief,

"Do you know my mother?"

-Mother?

Phoenix replied, its eyes wide and a cheerful smile spreading across its face.

-Indeed! Looks like I was not entirely wrong! Yes! If she were to have a child, he would be the same age as you!

The intense flame died down, and Phoenix continued,

-Do I know your mother? Of course, I do! I am greatly indebted to your mother, Reina.

With its beautiful wings flapping, Phoenix perched in front of Leo.

Despite Phoenix's reputation for being arrogant, it was surprisingly gentle, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Leo couldn't help but look bewildered at this unexpected turn of events.

'This Phoenix is a world apart from the Phoenix that Risinas had raised. That baby chicken was a ruthless one.'

-What's your name, Reina's son?

"Leo Flove," Leo answered.

-Nice to meet you, Leo. I'm Felia, Felia introduced herself.

"What's your connection to my mother?" Leo asked. "Did you say you're in her debt?"

Felia chuckled.

-Reina is my benefactor and saved Ellen Lund's life.

Leo raised his eyebrows in surprise.

The Lund family was a renowned hero family among the elves.

Moreover, Ellen was the head of the Lund family and a hero who got listed on the Hero Record.

-At the time, Ellen was a dungeon raider who was in charge of a mission to raid a dungeon in Seirun.

“Dungeons, you mean hero dungeons that appear due to the outburst of lost pages in Hero records?”

-Indeed.

There were five places that hold hero records.

But besides that, there were hero records scattered in this world.

Specifically, they were the lost pages of the Hero Records.

Those scattered pages throughout the world sometimes outburst and creates a Hero’s world.

The world created by lost pages like that was called the Heroic Dungeon.

- Hero dungeons are something that invades reality. As time passes, the monsters in the Hero’s world cross the dungeon entrance and come over to reality. Finding those dungeons and conquering them is one of the main missions of the Hero Academy.

Even if someone were to discover a hero dungeon, many countries try to cover up the fact.

Because if they were to conquer the dungeon, they would be able to inherit the hero's ability.

Countless nations have perished due to the result of keeping the Hero's Dungeon secret.

The hero dungeon was extremely dangerous, only those with the best skills could take on the mission to conquer them.

- One day, Ellen was deployed on a mission to conquer a certain Hero dungeon. But he failed and all his comrades died. When Ellen too was on the brink of death, it was Reina who saved him.

Felia muttered bitterly when she recalled the past.

- During the process, Reina lost her Aura. If it wasn't for that incident, Reina would have also claimed the position of a hero...

"Mother, don't dwell on the past," Leo comforted her. "The present is what's important to her, and that's just who she is."

- Huhu... her personality hasn't changed, has it?

Leo smiled softly and asked Felia.

“By the way, Felia, why are you in Lumeln?”

- I came here at the request of the headmaster of Lumeln, Kalrian.

"At the request of the headmaster?"

- Yes, I can't tell you the exact reason though.

Leo felt curious about the secret story.

- So why are you on this island? A first-year knight department student shouldn't be on this island right now.

Felia thought that Reina's son, Leo, naturally belonged to the Knight Department.